Pillow construction



lilly 21, 1970 M. H. GREENAWALT 3,521,310

PILLOW CONSTRUCTION Filed July 25, 1968 United States Patent O 3,521,310 PILLOW CONSTRUCTION Monte H. Greenawalt, 1901 Rockdale Road, Dubuque, Iowa 52001 Filed July 25, 1968, Ser. No. 747,722 Int. Cl. A47g 9/ 00 U.S. Cl. -33'7 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a pillow constructed to provide firm support to the neck portion of an individual while providing less firm support to the head portion, the pillow comprising a pair of firm outer members and a less rm intermediate member, the upper and lower surfaces of the intermediate member being coeXtensive with the upper and lower surfaces of the outer members respectively, the upper and lower surfaces of the outer members tapering laterally away from the intermediate member to form a convexly curved outer edge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved pillow construction which affords unprecedented head and neck support to the user, entirely different from the usual cushion design, resulting in a stretching and relaxing of the neck muscles to provide greater comfort and rest to the user.

The ordinary pillow as is commonly found today is constructed of a ller or latex body being of equal firmness throughout, resulting in a pillow wherein the body is so soft that the neck support area compresses to result in no support or the body is so firm that the head sits considerably higher than the shoulders of the user, resulting in an abnormal sleeping or resting position, creating a feeling of stiifness or soreness in the neck region of the user upon embarking on the days activities.

Various types of pillows or the like have heretofore been designed to bolster the pillows firmness to support the neck region of the user while providing a softer support for the head. The various pillows may be exemplified in U.S. Pats. Nos. 655,087, 1,020,444, and 2,880,428 teaching a bolster construction of cylindrical tubes inflatable with air or liquid, rmer lled oval compartments overlapped by softer filling, and a core of rigid material inserted under the neck supporting region encircled by the usual soft filler, respectively. As illustrated, it has hereinbefore been the practice to cushion the lirm end or neck support by under-inflating the inatable tubes or to surround the firming member with the softer filling of the body of the pillow. The prior art also shows that it has been customary to provide a gradual softening of the pllow body rather than an abrupt transition from firm to soft support, thereby only partially alleviating the problems as hereinbefore discussed with the ordinary pillow.

SUMMA-RY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved pillow adapted to enhance the rest and comfort of the user by integrating a firm support for the neck together with a soft support for the head of the user, the pillow comprising a pair of firm outer members having downwardly curved upper surfaces and upwardly curved lower surfaces providing a thick area adjacent one longitudinal side, the surfaces tapering toward the opposite side to form a convexly curved edge, and an intermediate member connected to each outer member along the longitudinal side adjacent the thick area, the upper and lower surfaces of the intermediate member being coextensive with the upper and lower sur- 'ice faces of the outer members respectively, the intermediate member being substantially softer than the outer members.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved pillow.

It is another object of this inventionto provide a pillow having a firm support member for the neck and a relatively softer support member for the head of the user with the support members lbeing integrally connected.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pillow which may be inserted in the ordinary pillowcase.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a pillow that will stretch the contracted neck muscles causing them to relax.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a pillow wherein the neck muscles are selectively stretched.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a pillow which will support the head of the user in proper position and is adaptable for use when the user is horizontally resting on one side or in a supine position.

It is another object of this invention to provide a pillow which is reusable, and may be cleaned and sterilized.

It is a further object of this invention to provide ay pillow which is simple in construction, economical in use and will retain its shape.

These objects and other features and advantages will lbecome apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

yBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a plan view of the pillow of this invention, showing the neck supporting members in relation to the head supporting member, and with certain parts cut away for illustrative purposes;

FIG. 2 is a reduced cross-sectional view as taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. l;

PIG. 3 is a foreshortened elevational view of the pillow of this invention;

iFIG. 4 is a side elevational View of the invention in use by an individual in a supine position; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the invention in use by an individual resting upon her side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings' and particularly FIG. 1, the pillow of this invention is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The pillow 10 is partially enclosed within an ordinary pillow cover 11` Iwhich gives the pillow 10 the appearance of a conventional pillow. The pillow cover 11 is cut away to show the pillow construction 10 comprising a pair of outer members 12, 13 and an intermediate member 14.

The outer members 12, 13 are identical, therefore only one member 12 will be described. The outer member 12 is of a firm, resilient material such as hard latex or the like and comprises a ilat vertical side 16, and upper surface 17 (FIG. 2) and a lower surface 18, the surfaces 17, 18 curving downwardly and upwardly, respectively away from the side 16 to merge and form a convexly curved side or edge 19 which forms the outer periphery of the member 12.

The vertical sidev 16 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pillow 10 the entire length of the member 12, and defines in cross section the entire height of the member 12. The upper surface 17 connects the side 16 at its uppermost edge 21v to form substantially a right angle therewith (FIG. 2). From the edge 21 the upper surface 17 curves downwardly and away from the side 16 to merge with the lower surface 18. The surface 18 connects the lowermost edge 22 of the side 16 also at substantially a right angle, and curves upwardly and away 3 from the side 16. This arrangement provides a thick area 23 between the surfaces 17, 1S and immediately adjacent the longitudinal sides 16.

As shown in plan view in FIG. 1, the edge 19 of member 12 curves inwardly at each end 19a, 19b of the member 12 toward the intermediate member 14 to form an acute angle with the ends 24, 26 of the side 16.

The intermediate member 14 (FIGS. l and Z) is of a soft, resilient material designed to exert negligible resist'- ance when receiving the head of an individual user and includes a pair of vertical sides 27, 28 extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pillow 10, an upper surface 29 and a lower surface 31, the surfaces 29, 31 merging at their outer ends to form curved edges 32, 33 (FIGS. 1 and 3).

The longitudinal sides 27, 28 of the intermediate member 14 are a mirror image of the longitudinal sides 16 of each of the outer members 12, 13, and are laminated together with an appropriate bonding material to form the pillow 10. The upper and lower surfaces 29, 31 of the intermediate member are coextensive with the upper and lower surfaces 18, 19, respectively, of the outer members 12, 13, as are the edges 32, 33 of the intermediate member 14 and the edges 19a, 19b, respectively, of the outer members 12, 13.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 it can be illustrated that the curved outer edge 19 is positioned contiguous to the shoulder area 34 of the individual and the firmness inherent in the outer member 12 -prevents the contoured member 12 from collapsing under the weight of the individuals neck 36, keeping the neck 36 in proper alignment with the normal curvature of the spine when the individual is in a supine position (FIG. 4), and also resting in a side position (FIG.

The abrupt transition from a rm member 12 (FIG. 2) for receiving the neck 36 to a relatively soft member 14 for receiving the head 37 provides the pillow 10 with the unique feature of stretching the neck muscles and permitting them to relax, thereby leading to a more restful sleep and reduced likelihood of neck and shoulder spasms. It should be recognized that by shortening the width of one of the outer members 13 (broken line, FIGS. 1 and 3) the pillow 10 is adaptable for use by those individuals having a short neck or desiring less muscle stretch.

Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been described and disclosed hereinbefore, it is to l be remembered that various modifications can be made thereto without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pillow construction for receiving the head and neck of an individual in a resting horizontal position, the pillow construction comprising:

a pair of rm outer members adapted to receive the neck of the individual, said members each including an inner side extended longitudinally of the pillow and an outer side, each outer side having a convexly curved outer surface in transverse cross section; and

an intermediate member attached to and positioned between said outer members and being in contacting engagement with said inner sides, said intermediate member adapted to offer negligible resistance when receiving the head of the individual.

2. A pillow unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said inner side is substantially at.

3. A pillow unit as defined in claim 1, wherein one of said outer members is wider than said other outer member.

4. A pillow unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said outer members are composed of rm rubber.

5. A pillow unit as dened in claim 1, wherein said intermediate member includes a top and bottom surface substantially coextensive with the upper and lower ends of said convexly curved outer surfaces of said Outer members.

6. A pillow unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said intermediate member is laminated to said inner side of each of said outer members.

- 7. A pillow unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said intermediate member is of soft rubber.

8. A pillow unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said combined inner and outer sides form a thick area therebetween.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,670 9/1961 Clark 297-461 3,070,402 12/1962 Stanton 297--421 3,239,854 3/1966 Freelander 5-337 3,403,414 10/1968 Unger 5-355 REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner 

